During our 2009 Highlands & Islands tour to Scotland, my friend Tommie and I decided to spend a free afternoon in Edinburgh taking a city bus to Rosslyn Chapel. We had both seen the movie “The Da Vinci Code”. I had also read about the Knights Templar and their possible connections to the place as well as about Henry Sinclair (St Clair) and his possible voyage to what is now America in 1398. It was the Sinclair (St Clair) family that built Rosslyn Chapel in 1456. The elaborate decorations within the chapel include the depiction of maize (corn), which would have been unknown to Europeans in 1456.
We had a city tour in the morning, and then went to lunch at the undercroft café of the Church of St Andrew and St George next door to the hotel. Mom and I had been there before and found that the food was delicious, homemade, and the proceeds went to charitable work of the church. Good food and good works all at once. Cash only, though. No credit cards.
We waited a while for the #15 bus, which we could get right across the street from our hotel. A few other people in our group decided to go too. There were about six of us total. It was another rainy day. It absolutely poured on the way out there. The rain came down so hard that we really couldn’t see much out of the windows of the double-decker. We assumed the driver knew where he was going.
When we got to the town of Roslin, the bus dropped us off next to the hotel there. We found that we needed to catch the bus on the opposite side of the road to return to Edinburgh as well as the time of the last bus back before walking the distance to the chapel. The very steep road from the chapel to the castle was running like a river. We figured we’d spend our time at the chapel and venture to the castle if the rain let up and we had time. It didn’t and we didn’t, so I finally saw the castle several years later.
The chapel was being restored and was nearly completely encased in scaffolding on the outside. There was also a very large, temporary corrugated roof over the entire structure. Since we were allowed to climb up on the scaffolding, we actually saw the exterior of the chapel better than we would have just standing on the ground. We were able to stay dry too.
Periodically throughout the day, talks are given inside of the chapel regarding the history of the place and “The Da Vinci Code” movie. It is a fascinating talk. Afterwards we explored the interior of the chapel, including the crypt. It takes some time to take it all in; it is so gorgeous and there is so much to look at. In addition to all of the other amazing features of the place, there is the legend of the Apprentice Pillar. The Master Mason was so jealous of the beauty of that pillar, that he supposedly killed the apprentice. There is an inscription next to it that says, in Latin, “Wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are stronger still, but truth conquers all”. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside of the chapel.
The rain was lighter by the time we needed to walk back into town to catch our bus. The others who had arrived with us from our tour left before we did. While waiting for the bus to Edinburgh city center, we chatted with a fella from Turkey. Tommie had already been to Turkey so they talked about Cappadocia and some of the other interesting places in that country. I hadn’t been yet, so I paid attention to what they were talking about for future reference.
The rain quit while we were waiting for the bus so we could actually see the scenery on the way back into Edinburgh. We sat on the upper level at the front.
We had been planning to have dinner at a pub on Rose Street near the hotel. But we decided to splurge and go to the Dome across the street from the hotel instead. We ate in the Grill. I had a soup plus some haggis in a phyllo pastry shell. Haggis reminds me of hash and I actually like it.
The following day, we went to St Andrews, Braemar, and the Glenlivet distillery (all of which I’ve described before from past trips) on our way to Inverness. Our hotel was on the other side of the river from where Mom and I stayed the last time. The main street of Inverness was just outside of the hotel, which was great for finding places to eat and shop, but not so great for the middle of the night when the bars closed – especially after a football (soccer in US) game; whether or not their team won.
Next time — the area around Inverness and parts north.
